Third Eye Blind’s “Ursa Major” Hits But Largely Misses

I have mentioned my deep and abiding (if not a little creepy) love for Third Eye Blind at least twice now on Sound and Tonic.

Here comes round three.

Ursa Major was released not so long ago, and I’ve been mulling it around for a few weeks now. I know that it often takes a reasonable amount of time for me to move from music being ‘okay’ to ‘pure genius’. The Abrasive Wheels took 3 years before they worked into my larger and more accepted music library.

So I kept listening to Ursa Major, but I noticed a pattern. I rocked out through the initial tracks. I danced and sung along and had a good ole time. As the album progressed I found myself not paying attention to the music, or unthinkingly turning the album off in favor of something else. The album starts out quite strong, but unfortunately I don’t feel Third Eye Blind does a very good job of carrying that momentum through the rest of the album.

This, of course, upsets me. With the exception of the cheesy way-too-teenage-angsty tracks (*cough* Jumper *cough*) of their self-titled album, I’ve found the entirety of their catalogue to be truly fabulous. Rating a Third Eye Blind song less than 4 stars hurts my soul. I feel like a traitor.

That’s not to be helped, though perhaps another couple months of listening may sway me to bump some of those 3 and 3.5 starred songs upward to a 4. It has happened before.

Most unfortunately, I feel as is Stephan Jenkins’ writing powers are failing. I let “Non-Dairy Creamer” slide because it was only on an EP, and obviously meant to be flippant. Ursa Major gives off no flippant vibes. This is unfortunate to a point, because I can’t write any poor lyrical choices off to flippancy.

In fact, Stephan Jenkins’ lyrics on this album occasionally leave me annoyed to the point of near anger. “Sharp Knife” leaves me twitching. The verses are quite alright, and remind me of old Jenkins’. The chorus, and the repetition of “I wish I was a Sharp Knife” makes me wish I had a sharp knife, so that I could somehow make it stop.

“Sharp Knife” however, has nothing on “Why Can’t You Be“. Oh my goodness how I dislike that song. The regular version is bad enough, but when Kimya Dawson (who is normally wonderful and good) is brought into the equation, I nearly lose it. It’s mostly the lines about the Water Pick shower massager that leave me screeching like a banshee.

Really?

The line “My water massager’s the purest love I’ve ever known” makes me want to find Jenkins and punch him in the face. Sure he’s written amazing things, and sometimes I think those amazing things should give him a few ‘get out of Leslie’s doghouse free’ cards…but in reality his awesomeness of lyrical abilities just makes me hold him to a higher standard. By congress, I hate that song.

Here’s where I regain my composure. Excuse me a second. *ahem*. Better.

Where was I?

Oh yes. Ursa Major.

So, aside from the rather strong initial songs, and the songs that leave me spitting and sputtering in rage, the rest of the album fails to really interest me. I mean, it’s not bad. But I don’t find it particularly engaging. Kinda boring. The lyrics don’t sparkle with the glory of old Jenkins

Perhaps I’m being overly critical, but at least to me this album rests squarely at the bottom of the Third Eye Blind’s Studio Album Pile of Greatness.

What to Take Away?

Leslie is rather bummed that this album did not automatically take the place of best album ever.

What to Expect?

Slower Third Eye Blind songs that are hard to rock out to. You could probably get a good mini-groove going, or a slight foot-tap-head-bob combo, but a full rock out loud dance party would probably only last the length of the first track.

What to pair it with?

A Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza beer. It sounds amazing, and you are oh-so sure you are just going to love it. And you a take a sip, and it pulls you in and you start internally pontificating on it’s strengths, weaknesses, and worthiness just long enough to realize you don’t particularly feel like finishing the glass. You also feel slightly put off by the amount of money you just threw down in ratio to the enjoyment derived.

Favorite Song?

The first track “Can You Take Me” is a fast paced song that I could easily see on any of Third Eye Blind’s other albums. It has a good beat, good lyrics, aptly located harmonies and back up vocals, and a solid guitar part. It also attempts to incite a riot. It gets my approval.